


It's Been A Long Day

by Birchtree



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Coming Out, Gen, Supportive Akira, Trans Character, everything turns out okay though, mtf ryuji, please don't read if that squicks you, possibly forced outing?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27073585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birchtree/pseuds/Birchtree
Summary: In the Metaverse, cognition becomes reality. Within Kamoshida's palace, a young woman awakens.[in which Ryuji sees herself as a girl, and her awakened form reflects this]
Relationships: Kurusu Akira & Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 1
Kudos: 34





	It's Been A Long Day

“Stop lookin’ down on me with that stupid smile on your face!”

A band snapped tight around Ryuji’s head as a voice thundered from deep within him. The pressure was immense- simultaneously squeezing and pulling, like his brain was being mashed to bits from the effort to contain it all.

The voice spoke of temptation and power, of hoisting a flag in rebellion and standing proud despite scorn and disdain. Of other selves and truths uncovered.

There was a mask.

Pain. 

Clarity.

Ryuji rose on shaky feet, finding footing and glaring down at the pitiful man before him with open disdain.

The rough battle cry that rose from within was different somehow. Higher? Ryuji felt lighter on his feet, barely noticing the tight leather and well-worn boots.

As he leapt into action, heavy lead pipe raised aloft, the last thing Ryuji could think was that he had never felt so alive.

\----

Akira was looking at him weirdly.

He kept glancing over and looking away again, and eventually Ryuji had to speak up.

“What the hell, man? Why do you keep lookin’ at me like that?”

His voice sounded lighter than he remembered, but he didn’t think too much of it, more preoccupied with the epic beatdown he had just given that bastard Kamoshithead’s goons. He was alight with adrenaline, exhilaration, and fear, and felt like he could burst at any moment.

Akira quickly waved his hands dismissively and pointedly avoided looking in his direction, waving them hastily towards the exit of the warped castle and into relative safety.

\----

Ryuji settled onto the stone path with a quiet thump, struggling to process the events of the day.   
He had a persona now. Huh. That was cool.

“Ryuji, why do you look like a girl?” Mona stifled a laugh as he pointed a paw at Ryuji’s chest.

Wait, what?

Ryuji looked down, and was mortified to see what was definitely a modest chest beneath his leather jacket. A strand of long, curly blonde hair brushed his cheek, and he grabbed a lock and stared in bewilderment. After a quick survey of the rest of his body, Ryuji concluded that he did indeed look like a young woman.

And a part of Ryuji liked it.

“I don’t know man! You know more about this metaverse bullshit than us, stupid monster cat!”

Blushing furiously, he curled into himself, panicking. Oh god, what the hell had happened? 

A while ago, Ryuji had stumbled onto some forums for things like this, and for a while had wondered perversely what it would be like to be a woman. However, that was quickly squashed down and replaced with more socially acceptable behavior, and he never thought he would have to think about it again.

But, now that he evaluated the state he was in...it felt good. Right. Ryuji could feel leather pants hugging convex hips, long hair lightly brushing (his? her? her.) neck.

Mona pondered for a second, suddenly serious. “The metaverse makes cognition reality, so maybe...this is how you actually see yourself?”

Akira crouched down next to Ryuji, hand rubbing soothing circles into her back through the leather jacket. 

“It’s okay.” He stated quietly.

Ryuji chanced a glance upwards, meeting Akira’s eyes before ducking away again. Her teeth worried at her lower lip, and suddenly the dusty flagstones seemed a hell of a lot more interesting. “Are you familiar with the term transgender?” Ryuji probed, hardly above a whisper. “I...I’ve been questioning for a while, but I guess this is pretty solid proof, huh?” She laughed, tears in her eyes.

“Is this something you want to think about more? You don’t have to make any decisions right now, but if you want to experiment, I could definitely help you with that.” Akira looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then added “Even if it’s only in the Metaverse - nobody has to know if you don’t want them to.”

“I - I don’t know.” Ryuji hugged herself tighter and went still for a moment. “I - yes.”

“Ok. How about we start off simple? Do you want me to use she/her for you in the Metaverse?”

Ryuji looked hesitant for a moment, then took the plunge. “That - that would be awesome, man.” She felt tears begin to well in her eyes, and clumsily wiped them away with a hand. Akira pulled her into a gentle hug, and she began sobbing in earnest, leaning into the embrace.

“Fuck man, how long have we known each other? A few days now?” She laughed, wiping more tears away.

“Escaping a magical castle will do that to you, I guess.” Akira chuckled, pulling away from the hug to look her in the eye.

“Is there another name you would like to be called, too?”

“I’ve always loved the name Rin.” She said with a small, hopeful smile.

“Alright, Rin. Let’s go home, it’s been a long day.” Akira sighed and extended a hand down to her as he rose.

After a moment of hesitation and one more glance down at her new body, Rin took Akira’s hand as the world tilted on its axis.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I'm ftm, i don't know what it's like to be a trans woman. I hope I did it justice ;-; please let me know if there's anything I could improve upon!
> 
> I also feel like everything happens really suddenly, but I wanted a fluffy fic and I don't want to open the toxic masculinity can of worms that is Rin's trauma just yet -_- that's for later
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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